MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Retired Circuit Judge Bill Lasswell sits in his Oakland home earlier this month, discussing his research on the history of his great-grandfather's life during the Civil War era.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Retired Circuit Judge Bill Lasswell sits in his Oakland home earlier this month, discussing his research on the history of his great-grandfather's life during the Civil War era.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
This letter of condolence, preserved by Bill Lasswell of Oakland, was received by hisi great-grandfather, Balthasar Best. Lasswell's ancestor recieved the letter from a former teacher after Best's family was killed in a ferry boat accident on Lake Erie.